Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $330.45 and last traded at $327.8930, with a volume of 212817 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $323.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $316.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $287.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.57.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $12.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $303.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The aerospace company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.39. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 4.74%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Huntington Ingalls Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.12%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In related news, CEO Christopher D. Kastner sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.06, for a total transaction of $4,815,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 68,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,876,707.34. The trade was a 18.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.17, for a total transaction of $247,251.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 20,441 shares in the company, valued at $6,421,948.97. This represents a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,103 shares of company stock worth $5,477,768. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Ingalls Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HII. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 140.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 310.0% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 400.0% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 120.0% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc designs, builds, overhauls, and repairs military ships in the United States. It operates through three segments: Ingalls, Newport News, and Mission Technologies. The company is involved in the design and construction of non-nuclear ships comprising amphibious assault ships; expeditionary warfare ships; surface combatants; and national security cutters for the U.S.